I didn't have to wonder how long the fall was after that. I listened to Soy scream at the top of his lungs for about two minutes before he was deposited on the ground in front of me, with Deli on his stomach. She looked like she had actually enjoyed it.
"See, now that's the kind of fun we need more of!" she said.
Soy pointed his fingers at both of us and said, "You, Cal, are a liar. And royalty or not, you, are a weird little frog."
Deli hopped up towards the dock and inspected the lake.
"Uh oh!" she gasped.
"What is it?" I asked worriedly.
Deli replied, "This lake is filled with rooze. It's the waste that's left over when rile and lore are used in large quantities. It occurs naturally, but there's a reason why it is buried so deep in the mountain. As legend goes, it turns anything it touches into food for magical creatures."
"What are you saying? It could transform us into dragon food?" asked Soy.
"Or warlug food or troll food or ogre food. The legend doesn't really specify," she answered.
I looked across the huge lake and saw another spot of land. It was the only other one in sight. It led to a bright purple door.
"There," I said pointing, "that's where we need to go."
"Great. And did you happen to hear about the lake of death? It'll turn you into a Cal smoothie!" Soy answered with frustration.
"I can assist with that," someone said.
The voice we heard came from the dock. A small metal boat had appeared without us noticing. It was towing an even smaller dinghy (the size of a milk crate). A thin rope connected the two.
The voice belonged to a short creature who could barely see over the sides of his boat. His round ears rose a few inches from his head, and his pointy snout had silver whiskers. He held a large oar that was at least three times his size. When he stepped up and stood on the bow of the boat the grey fuzz on his body seemed to ruffle in a breeze from the lake. There was no way around it. This was an abnormally large, talking mouse.
"Who are you?" asked Deli forcefully.
"I am Sebastien. I row the boat from this side to that, waiting for passengers," he answered calmly.
Soy mouthed the word "mouse" at me and pointed towards Sebastien.
"And how many passengers have you had down here?" I asked.
Sebastien looked at me with his beady eyes and gave a smirk. "You will be my first."
There was no other way across without his boat. That much was clear. Without a word, I stepped inside. It only wobbled a little, but it was enough to make me uneasy. Sebastien held us steady by keeping his paw on the dock.
"Careful now, we wouldn't want you falling in," he said with a hint of amusement.
"We don't have a choice," I said to Deli and Soy, "and there's no turning back now."
"He's right," said Deli, and she hopped aboard.
Soy followed slowly, looking around the boat, and then stared at Sebastien through squinted eyes. Now that we were closer, I could smell the rooze. It smelled like raspberries that had gone bad. Real bad. If "undead zombie raspberries" were a thing, they would smell like rooze.
"What do you eat out here, rowing back and forth all day long?" Soy asked him, still suspicious.
Sebastien pushed us off with his oar and began turning the boat towards the other side of the lake. The smaller boat followed behind as we moved forward.
"I do not require much food," he answered.
Sebastien rowed us steadily out into the open water, alternating sides with his oar.
"And what do we owe you for the trip?" asked Deli.
I hadn't thought of that. If Sebastien set a price too steep, I wouldn't know what to do.
